Roofing · Wood shake (cedar)
How long does a wood shake roof last?
The Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau's own figure is an average life span of roughly 30–40 years, shakes generally outlasting the thinner sawn shingles. The Bureau's Certi-label program does carry a lifetime limited warranty — but only when a CSSB member installs the labeled product, which makes the installer, not the wood, the condition that matters.
Updated
The gap: the paper says “Lifetime” — The lifetime limited warranty attaches only when Certi-label product is installed by a CSSB member contractor — the label alone is not enough, and an out-of-network installation carries no program warranty at all. Preservative and fire-treatment coverage is separate, held by the treatment companies under their own limited terms. Typical service life is still 30–40 years. Warranty document (Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau (Certi-label), checked 2026-08-27)
Typical service life: 30–40 years
CSSB's phrasing: "the average life span is approximately 30–40 years," with pressure-treated (Certi-Last) products generally running longer, and shakes generally outlasting shingles of the same grade.
Tier 2 · trade / standards literature Range from Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau — Shake & Shingle Product FAQ, checked 2026-08-27.
Cedar's range is climate-written: dry-summer western roofs reach the top of the range, humid southeastern ones without treatment may not see the bottom of it. Where it stays damp, the treated product is effectively a different, longer-lived material.
What the warranty paper actually says
Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau (Certi-label) (Manufacturer's Lifetime Limited Warranty program) publishes a “Lifetime” limited, conditional warranty. The lifetime limited warranty attaches only when Certi-label product is installed by a CSSB member contractor — the label alone is not enough, and an out-of-network installation carries no program warranty at all. Preservative and fire-treatment coverage is separate, held by the treatment companies under their own limited terms.
The warranty document itself , checked 2026-08-27.
What shortens it
- Constant shade and overhanging trees — moss and trapped moisture are cedar's fastest killers
- High-humidity climates without preservative-treated product
- Poor ventilation beneath the shakes (skip sheathing exists for a reason)
- Blocked keyways and debris-filled coursing holding water against the wood
- Pressure-washing, which strips the soft grain and shortens the surface's life
Signs of wear to look for
- Widespread cupping, curling and splitting across sun-exposed slopes
- Shakes gone soft or punky at the butts, flaking when probed gently
- Moss and lichen colonies rooted in the keyways on shaded slopes
- Missing shakes after wind, exposing felt interlays
- Thin, eroded butt lines where decades of rain have worn the wood away
Other roofing materials
- 3-tab asphalt shingles about 20 yrs
- Architectural asphalt shingles about 30 yrs
- Metal roof (painted steel) 30–50 yrs
- Standing seam (Galvalume) 60+ yrs
- Tile roof (clay and concrete) 50–100 yrs
- Slate roof 75–150 yrs
- Copper roof 100+ yrs
- Rubber roof (EPDM) 25–40 yrs
- TPO flat roof 15–35 yrs